iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

When you make your own garden veggie cream cheese you can put as many garden veggies into it as you want

A sliced bagel on a plate on a black table in the sun piled high with finely chopped vegetables, loosely held together with some cream cheese.

Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Late w/my @unpub.bsky.social 2025 recap, but in the darkest timeline a little light is always relevant. Spending 4 days with this roving village of game designers is one of the most joyous events of the year for me. I’d trade all the spring/summer holidays for more. And it only works b/c of you.🎲✂️

A selfie with me on the left and an incredibly talented team from the game jam.

Curt demonstrating a tabletop dexterity game about playing HORSE during the ProAm game jam.

A selfie (probably shot around 2am) of Ian, Muzzy, Hunter, and me playing Riichi mahjong.

Playtesting one of my weird Hex variants. This one’s called Triplecross and it will probably melt your brain.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

Hey Unpub goers! I’m set up at K6 with Threading the Needle (my mahjong garment worker game). I’ll be here until 6:30. Stop by! 🎲✂️

A table with a series of boards and player aids set up on it with mahjong tiles. The table cloth is blue hexagons and the Unpub ready for players sign is raised.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Had my first meet up with a new playtest group in Toronto last night and got to try out a new investment game I’ve had in a drawer (yes, another one). I’m tentatively calling this one Witch Way. It’s loosely inspired by Trax and is basically a train game for people who don’t like trains or math. 🎲✂️

A paper prototype on a wooden surface. A grid of squares mostly diagonally bisected into 2 differently colored triangles and surrounded by cards pitching cauldrons with various resources hovering above them. Some of the squares have path tiles on them, each with a white and a black line. Those lines connect to each other and the cards on the outside. It has a hand written mark up that says “start” in the top left.

The same paper prototype at the same angle as before but labeled “end” and mostly filled in by path tiles with only one cauldron card on the outside. Cauldron cards are collected on one edge of the frame.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

I was cleaning out a folder and found this old board for Stalk Exchange and got all nostalgic. That game branched at least 4 times as I was figuring it out thanks to the most regular and frequent playtest schedule I’ve ever had. Community like that is truly special. Don’t take it for granted. 🎲✂️

A hand holding a rumpled and folded sheet of letter paper with a hex grid and a score track around the edge along with some ranking columns at the bottom.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

My first sighting of Stalk Exchange at Barnes & Noble! (It’s even right next to The Night Cage!) 🎲✂️

Some crazy person (the author) standing next to an end cap in the board game section of a barnes and noble pointing at board games. One hand points at the Night Cage, the other points at Stalk Exchange.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

A bit of obligatory self-promotion. Stop by and see me at GAMA next week if you want to learn a bit about pitch videos! 🎲✂️

a promotional graphic from GAMA expo that reads "making game pitch videos for non-video making professionals" followed by two head shots, one of George Georgeadis of Oniro and one of Christopher Chan of Tree Horse. February 23-27, 2025. Gama.org/gamaexpo. Kentucky international Convention Center, Louisville, KY

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Best mail I’ve gotten in a while! I’m so excited to dig into this one @amabel.bsky.social

A hand holding a copy of Carboard Ghosts by Amabel Holland over a polished brown stone surface.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

As someone who mostly takes notes on a phone, I’ve forced myself to keep my design journal for the garment workers game purely physical and to use cursive when I write in it. I don’t know if this is helping or hurting the process, but it is making it feel more personal and specific. 🎲✂️

A page of cursive text in a lined journal. Mostly about math.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

It’s 4am, my alarm isn’t supposed to go off for another hour and I can’t wait. I’m on the road to PAXU. See you there, friends!

A selfie of the author sitting in his parked car about to drive off to PAX. He’s bundled up, open mouthed with excitement and… is that a mustache? Why does he have a mustache?

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

I stopped by Millennium Games to do some Xmas shopping and was surprised to see them displaying Stalk Exchange! Seeing your game out in the wild never gets old! 🎲✂️

The interior of a games store. I’m standing next to the assistant manager posing with a copy of Stalk Exchange in front of a display of Stalk Exchange.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Sometimes a game comes out almost fully formed, sometimes you do a lot of iteration. This pile might just be from August. But I’m feeling good about the progress this historical garment worker Mahjong variant has made in just under 6 months. 🎲✂️

A pile of printed boards and player aids scattered on the a carpeted floor. They’re spare, simple organizers mostly. The lighting could be better.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 06/11/2024

I need to get a proper cooling rack for the next time I stress bake.

A close up of some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies cooling on a repurposed dish rack.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 17/09/2024

Ok! That’s 148 mahjong tiles stickered and ready for playtesting CuseCon in a few days. 🎲✂️

A coffee table covered in the backs of sticker paper and rows of mahjong tiles with non traditional symbols on them.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 05/07/2024

@sumfatkid.bsky.social the snack commission should be aware of these. They’re preeetttyyy good.

An open bag of ruffles potato chips. The flavor: KFC original recipe chicken.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 27/06/2024

Another night of playtesting at Opal Grove. Got Unseelie Uprising to the table and have clear steps forward to the next iteration. Also got in a good 4p test of Ryan’s game, Opening Night.

A grid of square cards with forests and castles on them.

A prototype of a worker placement game themed after around theater.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 19/06/2024

In each of these boxes and bags, there is a prototype that I’m bringing to Origins. Let’s see how many of them I can playtest this week! 🎲✂️

A stack of 7 boxes and bags on a stained work table in front of a Kallax of games. Sunlight hits the boxes on one side.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 07/06/2024

Hope the next person to use this wants a mocha, because this certainly tasted like it had coffee grounds in it.

An open Keurig machine with a Swiss miss hot chocolate pod in it.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 30/05/2024

Punching a new game is exciting. Punching an advance copy of your own game is magic.

A hand holding a bunch of punched chipboard sheets like a hand of cards in front of a wall of board games. The punched sheets read “Stalk Exchange” in the top left corner.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 21/05/2024

Gonna be up late shooting a little pitch video.

A wide angle photo of a home office filled with board games and lighting equipment. A camera mounted on a tall tripod points at a table with a prototype involving multicolored Jenga blocks.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 14/05/2024

Guess what I'm making a rulebook for? 🎲✂️

A screenshot of an adobe illustrator workspace with various artboards scattered about. Colorful vector blocks on top of a forest of dollar signs- clear but mostly functional.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 22/04/2024

Announcement day! My game, Stalk Exchange, will be released at GenCon with the Op. I'm bursting with excitement for this one and so excited to talk about it more. A whole bunch of videos dropped with the announcement too! I'll follow with them below. 1/2 🎲✂️

A board game box featuring a papercraft flower arrangement sits on a green surface with components artfully set up around it. There are wooden tokens with flowers on them, papercraft sheds, a board with hexagons, and cloth bags. Behind all of this is a blurry garden background.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 13/04/2024

Almost every book/souvenir store in the Zürich airport had board games. I’m going to miss Europe.

A black metal display of board games in the Zürich airport.

A pyramid display of board games in the Zürich airport. Fun fact, there were 2 of these, but one of them was focused on kids games.

A white shelf of board games next to a shelf of souvenirs in the Zürich airport. A sign reads “tobacco in the background.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 12/04/2024

I gotchu www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/...

A stock photo of a Swiss Army knife from above showing various implement a with a stock photo watermark reading “shutterstock.com 1677196372”

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 12/04/2024

It’s our last full day in Switzerland and we returned to Zürich after a final morning soak at Therme Vals. I can’t get over how orderly this city is, even at its most chaotic by the lake.

A street photograph of a bicycle parked on a rack against a concrete wall with wisteria growing above it on an overhang with lengthening shadows adding a sense of slowness to the image.

A long exposure of a lake at sunset with a silhouetted skyline in the background. A dock just in from the right casts shadows and reflections on the glassy surface.

A low angle photograph of the spires of Grossmunster Cathedral. The light bounces harshly off the white stones and hard shadows accentuate it against a blue sky.

A concrete hutch built into a wall with circular air vent from front on. Like section of a circle cut into the frame.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 11/04/2024

Drove 3.5 hours to Vals to stay at the House of Architects and visit Therme Vals. The surrounding village couldn’t be more different than this place. The spas do something special (and don’t allow cameras), but the hotel makes me feel like I’d need another zero or two on my salary to fit in.

Wide angle shot of a Kengo Kuma designed cocoon room. Wood paneling and angles with a spare, modern simplicity and a Japanese soul. But tbh, it’s very small.

A view of the village of Vals from a hill with a snow capped mountain in the background. It’s folksy and old.

A straight on view of a village house. A slanted stone path below with cracked plaster and a short dark wooden door on the first floor. Dark but faded wood on the second floor and a balancing with an orange car perched on it.

A lounge space in the hours of architects hotel. Modern, dark cabins and black leather chairs with a fire burning in a stone hearth. To the right a highly stylized portrait of a woman that feels more done up than the rest of the luxury present.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 11/04/2024

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 10/04/2024

Lauterbrunnen is stunning. There are 27 waterfalls in this valley and I’ve been doing long exposures all day. Pro tip, fellow camera nerds: bring a graduated ND filter set here. You won’t want to sacrifice your skies to get a decent exposure of these dark, richly detailed mountains.

A cliff side in Lauterbrunnen on a cloudy day. It forms a snaking ridge where 3 waterfalls are visible. It’s austere and majestic but fun fact: if I’d tilted the camera down a few degrees you’d see a port-a-potty in the foreground.

A mountain ridge covered in dark cumulus clouds with a pine forest in the foreground. A snowy mountain in the background.

A landscape of Lauterbrunnen with a church in the center foreground, a waterfall on the right and a snow mountain on the left with clouds rolling over the ridges.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 09/04/2024

Somehow we’ve avoided the rain for over a week while we’ve been here. I’m glad we finally got some or we would have missed out on some really striking scenes. The clouds add mystery and drama to the distance without ever offering a horizon. Coming from the Midwest, this is especially powerful.

Grassy fields in the foreground. A waterfall falling from a sheer face, its source obscured by a misty cloud.

A floodgate in interlaken. Turquoise water and mountains rising into the clouds.

A view from a train window of a river and not yet bloomed forest. Lights reflect from the inside onto the sky, obscured by clouds.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 08/04/2024

Matterhorn day. Took the funicular and cable cars up 3000 feet to Sunnegga and then Blauherd. It was hazy and haunting in a way that kept forcing us to reevaluate our sense of scale. When we came back down we played a game called Matterhorn in our Airbnb, which is the only way I intend to summit it.

A view from a cable car with a dirty window. The Matterhorn is in a mist on the left and in the foreground are rocks and a cable car line. It’s as foreboding as it was windy.

A game called Matterhorn laid out on a table with pawns and circular pieces of chipboard climbing a mountain divided into numbered rows.

The Matterhorn in the distance on a hazy day. A cottage in the foreground with tiny skiers traversing slopes in the foreground.

A view of the bottom of the funicular up to Sunnegga. Stairs on both sides with arms down. Tracks go up at a sharp angle.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 07/04/2024

Went to Chilton Castle this morning and ogled Lake Leman some more before heading up into the mountains to spend a couple days in Zermatt. It’s basically Jackson Hole/Aspen/McCall with more German and French up here. Also, Europe continues to surprise me with how often I see board games everywhere.

A nightscape of the rooftops of Zermatt with a mountain in the background. The mountain is lit up with eerie purple light as the windows of the town below glow with warm yellow.

A tower on the outer wall of Chilton Castle on a hazy day. The moat is visible along with some growth on the opposite side of the castle.

A rotating display in a train station store labeled”Toys” shows skip bow, uni and two versions of phase 10 along with a Barbie doll. It’s a strange combination.

A McDonald’s in Zermatt with all the zoning requirements of the town applied so it almost blends in with the wood timbered building around it. The yellow arches give it away at a glance.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 06/04/2024

Now that we’ve hit up CERN I’m done waking up early this trip. But the early start gave us time to stop by the International Museum of the Reformation before the afternoon got real hot. We were the youngest people in that museum. A beautiful evening when things cooled down.

An ultra wide angle shot of the visitor center at CERN in the morning. The sun rises over a tubular building .

A close up shot of a caption by an oil painting of Martin Luther that reads:

Luther << a la mouche>>
Anonyme
Debut 18
Hills Sur bois

Luther’s hand is visible on the other side of the frame, with a house fly on it in the painting.

A front shot of 3 white gas containers lined up in ascending height for Argon, Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide.

A long exposure of the Geneva Water Fountain at night. A dock with a red light sits in the foreground. Lights reflect off of the glassy surface of the lake inbetween both subjects.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 05/04/2024

12k steps before noon thanks to a v. early visit to the Rollex Learning Center at EPFL. Explored Lausanne until the mid afternoon then drove over a mountain to visit Le Musee Atelier Audemars for a tour that had strong The Menu vibes. But the watches were pretty cool.

A wide angle shot of a twisty glass and concrete building with a strikingly large span without any columns in the morning sun.

A wide angle view of Lac Leman. Clear water, blue skies, rocks in the foreground and mountains in the distance with reflections of everything on a mirror smooth surface.

A low angle shot of La Paix hotel as seen from a park on a level below it. Vines crawl over every stone surface and topiaries form arches on a rail above them.

4 reflective black displays opened like gift boxes filled with impossibly expensive watches inside a sleek wood and brass building. Honesty, these are the most traditionally museum like structures in the building, but they capture the wealth to the untrained eye better.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 04/04/2024

One of these things is not like the Other in Gruyere. Castles, Cows, The H.R. Giger Museum, and Cheese.

A cow looking at the camera on a green pasture with a blue sky and hills in the background.

A roofed medieval wall with mountains in the background.

A cheese maturation cellar with wheels of Gruyère cheese lining all sides. They are at various stages of ripeness indicated by their color which ranges from off white to a creamy yellow.

A close up of an acrylic statue of a Xenomorph in a glass display case with silver teeth. Honestly, one of the least uncomfortable things to look at in the museum.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 03/04/2024

Jen indulged my quest to eat all the cheese and buy infrequently imported German boardgames today. A quick stop in Solothurn revealed so much local numerology about the number 11 that we missed a cheese making workshop in Emmental. We did the tour anyway. Finished the day with Fondue in Bern.

The Author outside a clay colored storefront in Solothurn for a board game store called Spielhimmel. He proudly presents two games, Urbino and Mixtour.

A wide angle shot of the maturation room of Emmentaler Schaukäserei. Cheese wheels line both sides of the shot that recedes into a near infinity of emmental cheese wheels.

A small potato covered in cheese fondue fork in front of a nearly emptied fondue pot. The author ate all of that fondue.

Night time. A long exposure of the Aare river in Bern. A three arched stone bridge fills the center of the frame and 3 street lamps reflect on the glassy surface of the dark green water.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 02/04/2024

Started the day with a cruise on Lake Lucerne. Found a board game store in Brunnen. Went to the Swiss Museum of Transport and got chocolate. Finished the evening in Lucerne with a belly full of spaetzel.

A snow capped mountain with a lake in the foreground reflecting it and the sky.

An interior shot of a store with shelves stuffed full of board games. Like really, really double stuffed games on games stuffed.

A hand holding a bag of Lindt candies in front of of an inflatable Lindt Bunny in front of the Swiss Museum of Transport.

A long exposure of the waterfront in Lucerne at dusk. Street lamps reflect on the water and the silhouette of a castle looms over everything.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 01/04/2024

Started the day at Vitrahaus taking pictures of concrete, ended it at Basel on the Rhine. Wish we’d set aside more time for Basel on this trip in general.

A low angle show of Vitrahaus on a cloudy day. It looks like a topped Jenga tower

A wide angle shot of an interior of a Tadao Ando building on the Vitrahaus campus. Curved and meticulously joined concrete recedes into a narrow passage over a wood floor.

A long exposure photo. A statue of a woman looking over the Rhine in Basel.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 31/03/2024

Went to Uetliberg mountain today, walked a planet trail, and took a long nap. Going to find a cafe now.

A hill on a mountain side with a house and a radio tower on it.

A metal orb with a ring around it on a rock in the woods. The orb is Saturn.

A tall photo of a view from a mountain of Zurich. A steep slope covered in trees in the foreground.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 30/03/2024

I may or may not have eaten 200 grams of cheese today but we’ll never know for sure because I grew up using imperial measurements.

A plate of raclette cheese melted over potatoes with pickles on the side.

A park bench. A small loaf of bread and wedge of white cheese with a rind sit on wax paper.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 29/03/2024

We landed in Zurich! I counted 5 ads for watches and 2 ads for chocolate before we picked up our car. Jen is taking pictures of corners and concrete. The jet lag is strong.

A view framed by an airplane window of farmland and a wing over a town of orderly houses on a sunny day in Switzerland.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 29/03/2024

I’m in Amsterdam for my connection. It’s 9 am here, 4am in me, and THERE ARE MULTIPLE STORES IN THE AIRPORT THAT SELL BOARD GAMES.

A large display of mass market and hobby games in an airport store. 4 shelves deep. There are actually even more above it. Europe is wild.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 28/03/2024

I am off to Switzerland for 2 weeks! And I’m forcing myself to take pictures. Here’s a fountain in the Detroit airport.

A reflective black stone surface with a hangar window behind it.jets of water and plane.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 15/03/2024

Let’s do some weird cube rails unpub! Table D2.

A black tablecloth table with a multicolored Jenga tower surrounded by multicolored map tiles. An unpub sign in the foreground. It reads Stack Crash! 3-6 players ages 8+ 20 minutes.

A close up of a multicolored Jenga tower surrounded by multicolored map tiles.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 13/03/2024

I've got 3 Blocks at Unpub. Friday from 5-9. Saturday from 3-7, and Sunday from 12-4. Here's what I'm testing during them: BUBBLEGUM BUBBLE An explosive introduction to stocks. TOO MANY CHRISES: I-cut-you-choose sudoku about seating wedding guests. STACK CRASH: What if Jenga was a train game? 🎲✂️

A photograph of a board with multicolored marbles on it and a track design reminiscent of a tall gumball machine. Text on it reads "Bubblegum Bubble, a game by Christopher Chan 2-4 players, 30-40 minutes, ages 10+, Stocks! Sliding! Cash Free! Gateway"

a photograph of a bunch of empty seats at an outdoor wedding reception overlaid with square graphics containing icons of people and names. In script, it reads "Too Many Chrises a game by Christopher Chan" in subheaders it reads 2-6 players, 30 minutes, ages 10+, I-cut/CHRIS-you-choose, sudoku, gateway." it has a tag that reads, "Make a seating chart, don't make a scene."

An illustration in top down forced perspective of oblong multicolored blocks spelling out "Stack Crash" next to an illustration of a tower of the same blocks on a field of desaturated dollar signs. Its tagline reads "Get rich or topple the market trying" "A game by Chrisotpher Chan, 3-6 players, 30 minutes, ages 8+, Dexterity! Stocks! Trains! (sort of)"

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 01/03/2024

I should be packing for GAMA, but I think I figured out how to model a debt ceiling with Stack Crash instead. Whenever profits rise, you move a cube touching at least two other cubes up a level. If any cubes fall but the tower stands, now you have debt! It’s bad, but you can still win. 🎲✂️

A multicolored Jenga tower on an office floor on a black T shirt. At the top of it are a set of plain wooden cubes.

The same tower a few turns in. The tower has more holes and the cubes are now stacked higher on the tower in a more haphazard way.

The tower has collapsed toward the camera. cubes and blocks are strewn on a lap.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 29/02/2024

Update: It was surprisingly fun/not broken, and I ended up knocking over the tower so I couldn’t win. You now know about 40-50% of the rules. You might even be able to guess the rest if you’ve playtested any of my other stock games recently. Here’s a working title to beat: Stack Crash

A game board on a table with a play mat to mute sound. There is a grid map covered in a network of colored blocks. There’s a card river in the foreground. A Jenga tower, which has collapsed is in the back.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 28/02/2024

“Shouldn’t work” doesn’t mean an idea can’t work or won’t work. Sometimes there’s magic in concepts that defy best practices. Anyway, that’s what I’m telling myself when I bring this cube rails Jenga hybrid to play testing in about an hour. 🎲✂️

A boat game prototype on a beat up work table. A quad grid loosely depicting a landscape with colored Jenga style blocks on it.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 24/02/2024

I’m going to have an extra copy of Possums in a Trench Coat at GAMA. If you think you might want to publish a deeply weird auction game about being a bunch of derpy possums stumbling a mall around trying to get trash, HMU! Pitch vid follows: youtu.be/qltmEFOljto?...

A craft table with stacks of cardboard and sticker paper next to a rotary paper cutter. Screaming cartoon possum heads are on the sticker paper.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 20/02/2024

That's why I kept a record of my ratings this year. I’ve anonymized my ratings and laid them out here. I’ll interrogate what the data another time. But for anyone I judged, I hope this helps you understand my feedback better. Even if I was critical, I'm so happy you entered. Keep making games! 11/11

A bar graph with 7 ratings, broken up into 4 color color coded bars per rating. The effect, overall, is a bell curve. One bar is for engagement, one bar is for Originality of Theme, one bar is for Originality of Mechanics, and one bar is for an Overall Rating.

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